Zymo Gets $70M for Starting Trial

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Seattle-based ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: ZGEN) will receive a $70 million milestone payment from its partner, Bristol-Myers Squibb, for starting a mid-stage clinical trial of pegylated interferon lambda for hepatitis C, according to a statement. The trial, called Emerge, will initially enroll 50 patients on a variety of doses, then expand to 500 patients who are randomly assigned to get the ZymoGenetics drug or Roche’s peginterferon-alfa 2a (Pegasys). ZymoGenetics’ pegylated interferon lambda, sometimes called IL-29, is designed to have potent anti-viral activity without the nasty flu-like symptoms that force many patients to quit taking other interferon drugs.